FSE

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Ch. 2

Late Night Fight

Xun felt the itch on his right wrist but chose to ignore it as it would simply go away like most times but this was no ordinary one. As he felt sleep ready to overtake his form, eyes growing heavy by the seconds the unease grew, becoming unbearable to the point where he shot up like a bullet and scratched.

Pleasuring relief filled the bears system and even though he found it ridiculous to be feeling this way from something so insignificant, it felt too good at this point. Moments later did the itching finally stop and after glancing around the room to make sure everything wasn't out of the ordinary his head fell on top of the comfortable pillows once more.

'So tired...'

Now it was time for relaxation to settle within him and once again closing his eyes to the world, slumber took a hold of him...until he heard deep, throaty growls reverberating throughout the house.

A shiver of fear went down Xun's spine after hearing that and sat up, heart beating in rapid pace from the little dose of adrenaline. Eyes darted around the room, scanning for anything to purchase who or what ever made that noise but as he looked, nothing could be found.

Not even willing to bet there wasn't anything completely wrong going on, Xun rose up out of his bed, feet hitting the floor and dashed towards his brothers room. Upon entering, he found him peacefully asleep and for a quick second he had to wonder how on earth the little guy could not hear this.

'No time to ponder that!'

With adrenaline still coursing through his body, he made it over to Justin's bed and quickly shook the boy to wake him.

"Come on, wake up!" Xun shouted with urgency in his voice as he continued to shake his brother and after a few tense moments he heard him grumble and sit up groggily while rubbing his eyes.

"Wha..." Justin started out slowly before glancing up to his right, seeing Xun stare with a panicked expression in those leaf green orbs. "What's going on?" As if answering his question both ears perked up at the sound of a low, menacing growl and his brown eyes grew wide like saucers. "What was that?" He asked in a hushed whisper that ended with a slight whimper.

"I don't know but from the sounds of it, it's getting closer and I doubt it's just one..." Xun responded with a growl of his own and gazed down at his brother who was cowering in fright. "Stay close to me alright?" He said after grabbing Justin's shoulders to reassure him he would be safe as long as they stuck together.

The young bear was too terrified to even speak but he nodded all the same and climbed out of bed, clinging to Xun's right side as both pandas made it out into the hallway.

It was pitch black in the straight but wide corridor that led to the stairs down towards the kitchen, save for the light illuminating from their rooms thanks to the bright moon outside but that didn't help much against the darkness so with a flick of a wrist, Xun brought out a globe of fire.

"Thank the gods you have an affinity for fire..." Justin said with his arm brushing up against his brother who didn't seem to mind the close contact.

Xun could only grunt in response as they proceeded down the hallway with caution, their eyes constantly moving through the never ending darkness. While the search continued, his nerves were stating to go haywire by this point and his emotions consisted of uneasiness.

There was something immensely creepy about this whole setting that made both boys shiver in fright but they marched on and as their feet met the edge towards the stairs, that was when the growling grew louder.

"It...it does sound like there's more than just one..." Justin squeaked out and gazed up at his brother who had his brows furrowed as if concentrating on something.

_ 'This could turn out to be bad but if we play our cards right, we'll survive whatever it is down there_ '

Another thought entered Xun's mind and this one, he had to wonder why their parents weren't home yet. It had to be late by now and they should be here or on their way but since there weren't any clocks in the hall to deem himself correct, he momentarily dismissed this.

Closing his eyes and stifling a sigh of frustration to not alarm the ever growing presence, Xun glanced over to his brother and motioned his head towards the stairs. Just as they were about to descend, the bear stopped in his tracks and held his arm out to keep his brother in place.

Justin gave Xun a quizzical look before noticing a faint shimmer of white light pass in front of him and saw the same happening under both of their feet.

'Alright, that should do it.'

A precaution was made, consisting of a barrier to defend against any projectile magic attacks and a spell to make even the heaviest of species have the lightest steps.

After putting down his arm, Xun tensed as he brought a foot down, inching it closer to the hardwood and once it finally rested...

...

There was no sound. Even his claws didn't make the familiar click-clack upon the floorboard and both brothers sighed in relief for that.

With confidence surging through them, they continued down their path with careful steps. Luckily the lights were on but the strange part about that was that they were dim and about ready to give out any second now.

'That's not good... '

Reaching the bottom of the stairs did Xun finally realize that something was terribly wrong and what made matters worse were he felt pairs of eyes watching them with malicious intent. He couldn't see the enemy but knew they were hiding in the shadows, waiting for their guard to be let down.

"Xun! The lights!" Justin shouted as all of the light bulbs in the vicinity started to shatter from the magic that was being poured out, enveloping both bears in darkness.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in the older pandas mind. A lesson on the bestiary of demons and what to look out for when you encounter any one of them. At this very moment he knew what they were going to be up against and all of the evidence was staring him right in the face.

The deep growls...

The darkness...

All of the lights within the house being snuffed out...

Not forgetting the globe of fire that still hovered nearby, Xun snapped his fingers. The ball grew slightly bigger in size, the flames within granting more warmth and light until it popped, sending out pillars of embers across the entire area but only to the remaining walls to shine down and reveal whatever lurked in the dark.

"T-those are--" Justin stammered out with a shaky breath but couldn't continue on as he was paralyzed with fear.

"Hell hounds" A deep frown appeared on Xun's face. He didn't like this at all one bit, especially with how many there were as his eyes darted from the kitchen over to the living room. The odds were stacked against him as he counted a total of fifteen, all slightly cramped together from the sheer size of the house.

'Jeez, I know we're upper-middle class but sometimes I wish we had a bigger house!'

Upon closer speculation, they were large feral dogs that reached up to Xun's chest. The fur had a shade of a dark blue hue that contrasted with the night sky. It would have resembled a beautiful creature but the unsettling thing about it's appearance were it's bones.

Several jutted out from it's back, going across the spinal cord to ending it near the base of its tail. Wandering over to it's midsection, the ribcage jutted out as well but only the endpoints, giving the form a distorted but monstrous figure.

The claws were medium sized but very thick to where it looked as if they could cut anything like sliced butter. It's fangs were very sharp and the overbite it had was exactly like a saber tooth would have. What made them even more intimidating were the rippling muscles they packed on both their front and hind legs while also on the rest of their bodies.

A grimace fell upon Xun's muzzle. He didn't expect this to happen and although they had a barrier, it was only good for magic attacks, not for physical.

"Umm bro?" Justin whispered, catching his brothers attention to find a clawed finger pointing at a door leading to an open spaced backyard and what lay ahead were ten more of them.

"Dammit" Xun muttered under his breath and extended his right paw. He felt the magic in him pulse along with his heart, feeling the energy coalesce into his paw, bringing forth flames greater than the ones he used to illuminate with.

Upon seeing the fire, they cowered in fright in mere seconds but only one stayed unperturbed through this and stepped forward, eyes gazing cautiously between the bear and flames.

Gritting his teeth, Xun stepped back and stood beside his brother who still looked frightened by the whole situation. "Justin," He spoke with a low rumble in his chest as he gazed upon his brother who stared back at him in return with wide, frightened eyes "I know you're scared and believe me, I am too but we'll need to fight to get out of this alive."

"B-but what if I'm not good enough?!" Justin exclaimed with his ears pinning down in utter disappointment but perked up once he felt the older bear lay a paw on his shoulder and noticed it was the one not covered in fire.

"Trust me, you're great little bro but you need to have more confidence in yourself" Xun said with a beam of encouragement down to him, only to frown once more as he glared at the hell hounds that were now advancing with each step. "And as much as I want to continue this, now is not the time."

The hounds were looming closer than ever before and judging from their stances they weren't afraid of the light no longer. One of them snapped their jaws at the two teens with murderous intent and it didn't help when saliva dripped from their muzzles.

'They're not attacking...yet it's clear that these things want to kill us.'

Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering could be heard from behind him. His ears perked up at this and once he turned around, his heart plummeted with despair as it was obvious now that they were surrounded by the beasts.

"Well this is bad," Justin said with his back up against his brother, gazing at the dogs who just broke through the back of their house. "Got any plans?"

"I have one..." Xun responded with a bemused smirk and with his paw still raised, a globe of fire formed and rested just above leathery pads of his paw. Following after the appearance, intense heat filled the room and it had a great effect against the canines as they panted heavily with their tongues lolling out but the bear didn't stop there.

'Hope this works! '

"What are you--" Justin started to question but stopped after seeing Xun move his arm back, ready to throw contained energy at the hounds. "Wait! You're forgetting that the hounds are immune to--" But he was far too late in the warning as he watched the fireball being hurtled towards a group and upon impact, a fiery explosion erupted.

Luckily the light foot spell ended, otherwise both of them would have been blasted away from the sheer force. As Xun shielded his eyes from the smoke and bits of debris that settled down after a few moments he looked, only to twitch his left eye in insanity.

"...How?! That should have killed them!"

"Idiot!" Justin screamed while flailing his arms about in a manner of anger. "Hell hounds are immune to fire based magic! Why do you think they have the name?"

Xun blinked for a few seconds with a complete dumbfounded look on his face before responding. "I thought that it was sort of a joke"

...

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

The older bear shrugged then turned his attention back to what was important, finding the hounds still in their original position, not making a single move. He cocked his head in confusion and tried to figure out why they were in such a frozen state until it dawned on him.

Justin must have sensed the revelation, for an amused chuckle escaped him then sighed with bitterness in his tone. "You figured it out finally...they're waiting for us to use up all of our energy then go in for the kill."

"Makes sense...since they're a pack and all from what we're looking at here" Xun mused, then another grin spread upon his lips. "Hey I got another trick up my sleeve this time and it requires your help!"

For a moment his little brother just stood there, mouth agape in complete and utter surprise until he shook his head and grinned himself. "I'm all ears!"

~~~

Rowen stared up at the ceiling in his room with his tail idly moving about from the left side of him. Usually he would be asleep right now but tonight, exhaustion just could not get a hold of him as he lay there bare chested for all the world to see.

He tried closing his eyes and relaxing himself as best he could but after five minutes the lion would just be up again, seemingly restless. It wasn't like he had insomnia, which was very unlikely but tonight he felt like wanting to do something.

This wasn't the only thing that made Rowen active right now, because throughout the day until he came home his mind became filled with thoughts about Xun and how lovely the panda looked when he came back to Cloverfield.

It wasn't the first time this has happened because the feline did have a major crush on him during middle school but was very hesitant to confess his feelings towards the guy and he still was to this day. As smart as he was, he just didn't know how to approach the sensitive topic and it didn't help that his mind played different scenarios on the reaction Xun would have and they were all heartbreaking.

And what made matters worse about himself was the fact that he never lets anyone know what troubles him and it takes a lot of coaxing to get it out. No matter what it was, insignificant or large he'd keep it to himself but the only one who can see through his mask is his father who reads him like a book and as much as Rowen doesn't want to admit it, he was grateful for that.

Having enough of muddling in his thoughts, Rowen sat up and gazed around his room. It was large but nothing in comparison to the master bedroom his father resided in but he was alright with what he got. The walls and ceiling were painted a royal sky blue like the color of his eyes, a bed rested in the left corner, a walk in closet was opposite of him where he lay, a light brown wooded nightstand stood on the right side of him and to complete this three bookshelves occupied the far right of the room standing side by side next to the closet.

He didn't have any posters or any sort of items to make the room seem and feel cozy but to him, it felt comfortable. A smile crept upon his face as he looked at the ground to notice no discarded clothing littered the floor, just the way he liked it.

Suddenly light buzzing sounds brought him out of his musings. Those rounded ears flicked towards the nightstand and saw that it was his cell phone making the noise.

'Huh...who would be wanting my attention at this time?'

Reaching out, Rowen grabbed the little device and peered at it to notice there was a text message from Xun. He blinked for a few seconds, trying to recall exactly how he got this before remembering that the panda wanted to exchange numbers.

Clearing out the small state of confusion, he opened the message and read the contents only to frown deeply at what he saw.

"In danger!"

"Need help!"

"Come quickly!"

Rowen placed the phone back onto his nightstand before quickly jumping out of bed and making a dash to his closet, pulling out casual clothing consisting of a sleeveless white tee shirt and light blue jeans. He ignored putting on a jacket since the feeling of cool air invigorated him more than anything.

As he grabbed some shoes and slipped them on he ran for the door to exit his room but stopped, turned around to pick up his phone, then went back out. After closing his door with extreme caution so as not to wake up his father, the feline made a break for it to the front door but didn't make it far when he heard a familiar voice speak from behind him.

"Where are you going at this time of night?" The deep yet gruff voice questioned with clear authority.

Rowen's tail became slack and as he stood there frozen with his paw resting on the doorknob, he silently cursed himself before turning around to face the man up on the balcony wearing nothing but a dark red robe. "Just going on a late night stroll like I usually do dad."

Yes, this was his beloved father Alexander Hale who uses powerful wind based magic at his command. The man could summon tornadoes that could destroy an entire neighborhood in seconds and if he so wished, suck the very oxygen out of anyone that dared stepped in his way.

He was a rich man as he climbed up the business ladder of the company he worked for, almost owning it to become the richest man alive but he never went that far as he declined the position and as for why, the lion never gave much of an answer.

'We look so much alike...' And this was very true whenever the two stood side by side together but the only distinct difference between them were the eyes and pigment of fur. While Alex had rich, light caramel brown fur and gray eyes that looked like two silver moons in each, Rowens' fur was pure white like snow and eyes that resembled the sky above.

Aside from looks, Rowen inherited a trait from his father and that was being obnoxiously stubborn and never taking 'no' for an answer.

"But at this time of night? And you have school tomorrow." Alexander said with a frown coming upon his face while peering down at his son with suspicion.

"It's only eleven and I won't be long" Rowen replied with a reassuring smile while trying to keep his tail very still so as not to betray his true intentions of going out right now.

The older male stared at his son for a very long moment, the silence growing between them to the point where it was becoming unbearable until a pent up sigh was released. "Fine but be here by midnight alright?"

"Understood" Rowen nodded with a smile tugging on his muzzle and opened the door to close it right back behind him as he stepped outside into the fresh night air. With a pep in his step, the white furred lion strode his way over to his silver chromed 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 and climbed inside. Closing the door, he took out his car keys, turned on the ignition and drove down the road towards Xuns' place, luckily obtaining the address earlier in case anything happened or they wanted to simply hang out.

'I hope everything's alright...'

His mind started to become frantic as scenes of the panda being hurt played over and over with different results but it all ended the same with him having severe damage or worse. He didn't know what was happening but he prayed that nothing terrible would befall upon Xun or his brother.

Within ten minutes Rowen arrived at the destination but his head tilted to the side a little in confusion as he saw a 2011 Ford F-150 and a 2007 Chrysler 300 parked where he was right now. He didn't have time to ponder it over once he saw two figures hopped out and wandered over to the bears' house.

Curiosity peaking like the cat he was, Rowen stepped out of his truck and proceeded to the two with his guard completely up in case they happened to be a threat. As he got closer his eyes blinked in surprise when he saw Zane and Gwen appear before him.

"Both of you got the text as well?" Rowen asked with a chuckle escaping his muzzle after seeing them jump in shock.

"Whoa...scared us there for a second but yeah we did, that's why we're here" Zane explained with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It definitely sounded like an emergency..." Gwen mused while resting her chin upon her left paw in a thinking posture.

'A big one with all of us here...'

Suddenly everyone's ears perked up at the sound of someone riding a bicycle and it was approaching very fast. Turning around, they saw a husky coming up to them with a furious expression in his eyes and upon coming close to the lawn he kicked the kickstand before hopping off to join the rest of the group.

"Yo!" He greeted with a smile and a wiggle of his canine ears, completely ignoring the stunned looks everyone was giving him.

"Anyway..." Gwen started to break the awkwardness that was building up around them. "Nice entrance but who are you?"

"Damien!" The husky chirped with a cheer and tail wagging slightly.

'This really must be an emergency if four of us are here.. .'

"Glad to see ya dude but can we skip all the introductions? We have something important to deal with here" Zane motioned his head towards the house, reminding everyone whatever laid in store for them.

With no time to spare, Rowen walked ahead of everyone while seeing flickers of flames upon the windows and feeling the magic in the air, causing his fur to tingle. When he came upon the door he turned around to see everyone standing there, clearly trying to decide if they should follow or not. "Well?! Are you going to stand there and gawk all day or come see what we're about to deal with here?" He didn't even have to repeat himself as he saw them quickly walk towards him.

Before they could even get close to where the feline was, the sound of glass shattering could be heard along with the heavy thump of a body. Immediately everyone turned to find a massive feral dog laying on the ground whining pathetically but what caught Rowen's eye was how monstrous it looked.

"What on Heras name is that?" A look of pure fear showed upon Damien's face but there was also curiosity, considering how that canine tail wagged side to side slowly.

"Hell hound" Zane answered with a grimace as he looked upon the creature with pure disgust.

"Demonic beasts from the underworld that can cloak themselves in the shadows. They're stealthy, intelligent, powerful and can tear you limb from limb if you give them the chance" Rowen explained as he extended his right arm out and with a small amount of energy pushed out, the hound started lifting off the ground slowly.

With some effort on his part, he turned the beast around to expose it's vulnerable body to the group and gazed sharply at Gwen who nodded, understanding what to do.

"And the best way to defeat these guys is by piercing, drowning, slicing them up with wind...anything you have really, except for fire since they're immune" The ferret grinned after her brief teaching and summoned up a pillar of earth, molding it into a medium sized spear then without hesitation sent the object hurtling towards the beast.

Quick as a flash, the object went through the hound, leaving a hole where it was struck down and it stayed there lifeless for a moment before flames enveloped its entire being. Releasing the hold, it disappeared with the ashes scattering everywhere.

"Would have been a lot faster if I chopped him up...but whatever" Zane said with an absent shrug of his muscled shoulders.

Rowen didn't make any comment on the dragons' behalf as he reached for the door, placing his paw upon the knob and with a deep breath, pushed it open. What was met upon his eyes made them wide like saucers.

~~~

The downstairs area became a complete disaster in a matter of minutes. Furniture was destroyed, paint tore off the walls, all of the metals within the vicinity were either bent or dented, some objects were hanging off the walls while some littered the ground. It was like a ferocious tornado tore through their home but only leaving the roof and walls intact.

And if it didn't make any matters worse, both of the pandas were extremely exhausted from using up their energy for the past half hour trying to get rid of the hell hounds. At first Xun tried to immobilize them and have Justin drown the things. It seemed to work when they took out ten of them and they disappeared into puffs of smoke but after a while the dark clouds would form right back into the beasts.

Then as an act of desperation, the two teens just used their telekinesis to throw them around since the spell used less energy but it was quite taxing when dealing with something so heavy added with muscle mass.

"This is getting ridiculous..." Justin panted out with weariness creeping through his body and looked over to his brother to see him in the same position, "and you look like you're about ready to pass out."

Xun chuckled in response then winced. "Yeah...well I'm not about to give up yet but damn those things hurt when they scratch!"

Justin couldn't agree more because not only were they tired from wasting their energy, they had fresh cuts all over their bodies from head to toe. Throughout the battle, the hell hounds decided to really start playing with their food as they swiped at the two teens who dodged the blows but just barely.

"I'm not ready to go out either" Justin smiled as he stood with his back pressed against his brother then bit his lip from the excruciating pain he was going through. "You know, I was more worried about our parents killing us when they come home to this mess and yet...I still do."

Xun snickered at that with joyous flicks of his ears and grinned as well. "Well I can't blame you, the place is a disaster but if we do make it out of this alive...heh we'll probably be grounded for four months."

"Considering that we do live that is..." Justin giggled at how lame he was sounding right now while they were at the brink of having their bodies ripped apart but he just couldn't help himself.

'So this is how it ends huh? My first day of high school and we're about to die...the Fates have to be mocking us right now .'

With that perishing thought, Justin's knees grew weak and his body slumped to the ground. He knew it was futile from the start to fight these beasts head on but he stayed because his brother was right there with him.

He felt paws reach under his arms and tried pulling up to stand but his body just wouldn't respond as if it shut down completely. "Xun...just stop" A tiny whimper escaped Justin with his ears folded back.

"No!" Xun shouted in anger and winced from having to pull up his brother but he kept trying regardless, "I'm not letting you die like this! You're my brother and I'd be damned if I'm gonna sit back and let this happen!"

"Why are you trying...it's pointless don't you get it?!" Justin shot back with a huff then sighed deeply.

Xun opened his muzzle to protest but closed it as his ears swiveled to the front door and turned around with Justin following and both of their eyes widened at the sight.

Rowen stood there with Zane, Gwen, and Damien by his side and all looked ready for battle.

Without any hesitation, both the dragon and ferret used telekinesis to make a path towards the two bears and made a run for it. As they neared them, the spell ended and all of the hounds collapsed amongst the floor with a heavy thud.

"You alright?" Rowen asked with a threatening rumble escaping from his throat but other then that, he remained calm.

"More or less," Xun responded with a bemused smirk until his face contorted with pain "Ungh! But we're holding up just fine..." He managed out with a shaky breath.

"All we have are deep cuts and gashes...other than that we're just peachy" Justin chimed in with a shaky breath of his own and looked up at Xun who was still sort of holding him up. "You can let go now that they're here" With gentle care he was set down on the floor though every inch of him still hurt from the process.

"Is that all that's bothering you? Just the physical wounds? Nothing else?" Gwen asked with deep concern in her voice then sighed in relief when both boys nodded.

"Well that's good! We don't have to worry about them becoming thralls" Zane quipped and everyone shuddered at the thought.

Justin sighed in content before feeling a presence in front of him and glanced up to see Damien beginning to kneel down so they were face to face. "Thanks for coming to help"

Damien grinned in response with that canine tail wagging in happy speeds. "No problem! Soon as I got the message I came straight away, though..." He hiked a thumb over to where the other three resided and shrugged. "They sort of beat me to it."

The panda giggled softly a little then winced from the pain. "Even laughing hurts..." He took a deep breath and let it go soon after before looking up at the husky with impatience. "We're going to have to cut this short so...yeah...get rid of them so the both of us can rest tonight!"

Damien nodded without another word as he stood back up and padded over back to Rowen and the group.

Justin glanced around the vicinity, noticing once again that the hounds never made a move throughout the whole time everyone conversated. 'Never thought I'd say this but I'm grateful that these things are somewhat patient.' As he looked back towards everyone, a nagging thought came to mind and it almost made him facepaw himself for not inquiring earlier. "Hey guys, what are your elemental affinities?"

Rowen was the first to respond when he turned around to face the younger panda, although his answer wasn't exactly forthcoming as he'd like. "We already know about them Justin, so don't worry."

Justin didn't have anything else to say to that so he kept his mouth shut but he hoped that this will end very quickly so he can rest up for school tomorrow.

'And I better get a good show.'

~~~

Rowen scanned the area as he counted off each hound and noted that there were twenty five, all ready to devour with no shred of mercy. Truth be told, the feline was terrified of failing everyone, including himself but as he looked back and saw Xun in a terrible state his determination sparked within him.

"So what are we gonna do?" Damien asked, snapping Rowen out of his momentary trance.

"Well it's obvious we should immobilize them," Gwen stated with arms crossing over her chest and having a critical look on her face. "But it takes a bit of energy to hold them and keep them steady long enough to kill them."

"How many are there anyway? Seems to be thousands..." Zane said with a hush of a whisper at the last words spoken.

"Twenty five," Rowen answered with a grimace and all eyes were upon him in shock, not even expecting this many all at once. He couldn't blame them since the news came as a surprise to him also but they had to try and give it their all here or else they were doomed.

"So..." Damien started with the same question from before, "what are we gonna do? I mean I can't really do much since fire doesn't do anything to them." An annoyed huff escaped him but the lion wasn't paying any attention to the complaints.

'They're not advancing or making the slightest indication of attacking...just toying with their prey like a predator in the wild... '

Rowen glanced at the husky beside him and nodded. "You're going to be with me and take this side," he pointed a clawed finger at the living room where they all entered from then moved it towards Zane and Gwen. "You two take over the other section and wait for my signal and once I give it, let loose."

Gwen gave an amused grin. "Got it!" She chuckled and walked over a few steps to the beasts but stopped since there was a rather small ring around them and stood where she was with Zane beside her. "Ready when you are!"

Rowen turned his head over shoulder to glance at the ferret and nodded before returning his entire focus on the hounds in front of him, already setting a plan in motion but he had to time this right. As he glanced at the snarling hounds in front of him his mind was already turning gears.

The things were snapping their jaws, occasionally one or two of them becoming brave enough to attempt to bite at their heels but it was only an act to provoke anyone within the group to use up their energy. They were smart...but not completely and as the feline observed, analyzing everything to turn the tides in his favor, a wide smirk fell upon his muzzle.

"Everyone...let down your guard!" He knew this was risky but it was the only way to get this done and over with as fast as possible. Everyone gave him the insanity look with their jaws slightly agape, including the two injured pandas but Rowen's smile never wavered. "Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Hesitation followed with uncertainty in everyone's posture and eyes but eventually after a few moments they did what was ordered of them.

'Let's see them take the bait...and hope I'm fast enough'.

With that last single thought and everyone standing still, waiting for the feline to give off a signal...the hounds lunged forward, ready to strike the final yet fatal blow. Time seemed to slow down tremendously when they were in the air, teeth glinting from the renaming light they had left, terrible claws outstretched and permanent snarls etched upon each face.

"Just a little more..." Rowen whispered to himself as the ring of hounds began to get tighter within seconds and just when their paws were ready to meet flesh. "Now Damien and Gwen!" He shouted and immediately the ferret and husky extended their arms out, catching all of them within mid air but it was apparent they were already struggling to hold the weight.

"Now I know I'm a girl who doesn't mind lifting and holding heavy things but this is crazy!" Gwen huffed out with a grim smile on her face before looking over to Zane with a nod.

"I know the feeling! Heh..." Damien said with some wobbly shakes of his left arm but otherwise he was grinning through it all. "Now's the time to go all out here!"

With no words of response, both boys nodded and got ready for their spells. Slowly but steadily whips of wind started to pick up and swirl around Zane, a mini whirlwind forming around his body from head to toe.

Second thing that occurred was the air began to be colder than normal and icicles started to appear in front of the hounds on Rowen's side of the field with a look that could possibly frighten Hades.

"Ice..." Justin exclaimed with complete awe and it showed on his face when he turned to his brother with excitement. "How is he doing that? When will I get to do it?" He asked with a wag of his stubby tail, waiting for an answer.

"It's an advancement spell you'll get to use once you're a junior and trust me, It will take a while to master" Xun explained then laughed a little when he saw his brother become even more excited at the thought of using it.

"Well I definitely can't wait to use that, it looks awesome!" Justin said before quieting down and kept his eyes on what lay in front of him.

With one paw raised towards his own group, Zane unleashed powerful blades of wind that cut through the hounds as if they were nothing but butter, sending them back to where they came from with howls of pain.

Having her side wiped clean, Gwen's spell was soon released and she slumped to the ground breathing heavily a little. "I don't think I could ever do that again" She said with a laugh before standing back up thanks to the dragon who offered a scaly paw.

Then as swiftly as he managed, Rowen made a swiping motion in the air with his right paw, sending the sharp icicles to pierce the beasts. None of them ever made a sound as it was quick and painless then slowly one by one disappeared.

"That should be the last of them..." Rowen sighed with relief and looked over to the husky with a smile tugging on his lips. "Tired already?" He teased playfully while getting a glare in return for it.

"They were heavy and I had to pick up and hold more than one! Let's see you do the same thing and not be exhausted after!" Damien said with an annoyed huff then pouted, muttering some things under his breath that the feline couldn't quite catch.

"Well aside from the two of us being a little tired," Gwen spoke up and turned to face the two pandas "are you two alright?" She asked with concern.

"More or less" Xun replied with a chuckle then winced and clutched his sides with a frown on his face. "Okay this is getting annoying...umm can one of you guys please heal us?" He asked with both of his ears drooping.

"As much as I want to be fixed up too wouldn't it be better to repair the place so that we can get some natural light in and so we won't get grounded?" Justin said with a sweep of his arms around the place to empathize his point.

Everything was still in tatters and strangely enough, Xun's fire still lit up everywhere but the light wasn't enough to actually see anything.

"Well let's get started!" Damien said with a cheer and already he sprung to action starting with the shattered window that lead to their front lawn.

'After that whole thing how does he have so much energy?' Rowen really had trouble believing it but he was seeing that the husky was moving around and fixing up the place so with a shake of his head, he smiled and turned towards Zane and Gwen. "It would be faster if we helped wouldn't it?"

Both ferret and dragon nodded their heads and walked off to help Damien with Rowen in tow. In a matter of minutes the downstairs area looked completely brand new and all of the lights were functioning again.

"Thanks for doing this guys and coming to our rescue" Xun said with a grin before his face contorted to mass confusion. "But...how did you know we were in trouble?"

Rowen blinked a few times, perplexity hitting him as well while staring at the panda. "Didn't you send a text to us saying you needed help?"

"Yeah all of us got the same message" Zane chimed in with Gwen nodding for confirmation.

"But that wasn't from me..." Xun said as he scrunched up his face in concentration for a moment, muttering a little. "Alright so if it wasn't me...then..." His ears perked up at once and turned around to face his brother who was smiling sheepishly up at him all the while twiddling his thumbs.

"Yeah it was me...but you have to understand that I did it because they were too much for the two of us!" Justin blurted out with his hands flailing about as he explained before his ears sunk into his skull. "I'm sorry Xun..."

The older panda simply stared at the younger one for a few moments before letting out a deep breath and hugged him gently. "It's fine but promise to tell me next time alright?" He smiled when he got a nod in response.

Rowen couldn't help but feel all happy inside from seeing the displays of brotherly affection while a grin creeped up on him and noticing it was having the same effect on the others as he looked around. However, the moment had to be broken by him clearing his throat causing both pandas to jump slightly from the noise. "Sorry but you two still need to be healed and it's really late so..."

"Plus it's a school night" Gwen added in with a wag of her finger only to get stares from both Xun and Zane. "What? I know I got into trouble a lot but you have to admit I didn't like being late"

"Well anyways, are you two ready to get this over with?" Rowen asked once he turned his attention to the two pandas.

"Yeah...oh wait!" Xun said with a sudden snap of his head looking around and snapped his fingers, dousing the pillar of flames he set a while ago. "Almost forgot"

Zane snorted with amusement then chuckled. "Feeling confident without a shirt on dude?" He said with a snicker coming out of him.

"Shaddup! It's more comfortable to sleep like this" Even though he said this, everyone could see a faint blush come across his cheeks as he crossed his arms over his chest in a pouting gesture.

With a soft sigh escaping through his nose, Rowen made his way over to Xun and crouched, gently moving his arms out of the way and placing them down on either side. Immediately the felines paws made its way up to the bears chest having them rest there. "Just stay still alright?"

Xun didn't say anything but nodded all the same. In seconds, a soothing light green aura coalesced into Rowen's paws emitting a faint glow.

It didn't take long for the husky to follow suit and get to work on Justin with no protests to further derail them from wanting to finish this up and all of them to get some good nights rest.

While the two were being attended for, both Zane and Gwen decided to be on their guard for anymore potential threats that were sure to follow but thankfully there were none to speak of.

"There that should do it" Rowen said as he leaned back and looked the panda up and down to make sure that nothing was amiss. "Should be fine...can you stand?" He asked once he stood up from the ground, patting his pants down for any sign of dirt.

"I think so" Xun replied with a small smile before slowly getting up himself only to stagger a little but didn't have a chance to fall as the feline caught him for balance. "Thanks"

Rowen nodded in response with a smile tugging on his lips then focused his attention on Justin to see he was standing as well with the assistance of Damien. "We'll help you both to your rooms if that's alright?" The feline asked, though deep down he really wanted to stay just for tonight but he also knew his father really wouldn't allow it.

"That's fine but..." Justin trailed off once he spoke, hesitation clearly showing on him but with a nudge from the husky got him to start again and turned his head towards Xun, "You don't mind me sleeping with you for tonight right? I don't think I can be alone after...that" He whimpered softly.

'Could have phrased that a better way...' Rowen thought with his tail making erratic loops behind him only to quickly calm it down.

In response, Xun just absently shrugged then put on a lazy grin. "I don't mind it and really, I can't blame you after what happened" He grimaced a little but shook his head and placed a foot forward, motioning for Rowen to walk with him.

Quickly he caught on and the four of them trudged upstairs with Zane and Gwen following close behind. No sooner had they arrived, both pandas were gently laid down on the spacious yet comfy bed and were tucked in.

"Geez you didn't have to do all of that...it's not like we're coming down with the flu!" Xun complained though he was merely joking once he stuck out his tongue.

"But again, thanks for the help" Justin said with a smile as he gazed across the people who were huddled around the room.

"Anytime dude and if ya need us, you know what to do" Zane replied with a not so subtle wink to the younger panda then laughed a little when he caused him to blush a bit from the act.

It wasn't long before everyone started to ask if the two were still alright for the last upteenth time then finally deciding to end it with farewells and shooing out of the house.

As Rowen made it outside watching the remaining three head on home, he let out another deep breath that day and smiled. "At least you're safe..." He whispered softly to himself before reaching his car and driving down the midnight road.